1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for the decontamination of solids. More particularly, the invention concerns an apparatus for the decontamination of soil which has been contaminated with hydrocarbon materials.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In recent years, the maintaining of the enviornment free from contamination by hazardous materials has come to be recognized by ecologists and various governmental agencies as being of paramount importance. Accordingly, meaningful steps have been taken to control waste disposal, including the disposal of hazardous hydrocarbon materials. Similarly, meaningful steps have been taken to clean up areas which have become contaminated in years past and which constitute health hazards.
In the past, rather crude and generally inefficient methods have been suggested for cleaning up hydrocarbon contamination and particularly for decontaminating soil which has become contaminated with hazardous hydrocarbons. Typically, these prior art approaches were expensive, highly labor intensive and generally unsuitable for the clean-up of large volumes of contaminated soils. The present invention, for the first time, offers a practical and efficient method for the decontamination of large quantities of contaminated soils.